English Original
Once upon a time, a king's adviser saw a dead mouse by the roadside. He remarked to his companions that an energetic young person could build a fortune even from such a small beginning.
A passerby heard this and decided to act. He picked up the mouse and soon sold it to a shopkeeper for two copper coins. With the coins, he bought sweet cakes and water, which he then traded to weary flower pickers for their flowers. He sold the flowers in the city and reinvested the profit, starting a small cycle of trade.
Later, after a storm, he offered to clear fallen branches from the king's garden in exchange for keeping them. He enlisted children to help, paying them with sweet cakes, and then sold the collected wood as firewood to the king's potter for a handsome sum.
With his growing capital, he opened a refreshment shop. He generously offered free cakes and drinks to local grass mowers, earning their goodwill. When a horse dealer arrived with 500 horses, the man secured all the grass from the mowers and sold it at a high price.
Hearing of a foreign ship's arrival, he devised a clever plan. He acquired a valuable ruby ring and gifted it to the ship's captain as an advance commission. In return, the captain directed all passengers to him as their broker. The man then guided the passengers to city merchants, earning commissions from both sides. This successful venture made him very wealthy.
Grateful, he gave half his wealth—100,000 gold coins—to the king's adviser who had inspired him. Astonished, the adviser asked how he had amassed such fortune. The man recounted his journey, starting from the dead mouse.
Impressed by the man's energy and talent, the adviser gave him his only daughter in marriage. After the adviser's death, the man inherited his wealth and position, becoming the richest and most generous man in the city.
The moral is: With energy and intelligence, great wealth can grow from the smallest beginnings.
中文翻译
从前，一位国王的顾问在路边看到一只死老鼠。他对同伴说，即使从这样微小的开端，一个精力充沛的年轻人也能积累财富。
一个路人听到了，决定付诸行动。他捡起老鼠，很快以两个铜币的价格卖给了一个店主。他用铜币买了甜糕和水，然后与疲惫的采花人交换了他们采摘的花。他在城里卖掉花，用利润再投资，开始了小规模的贸易循环。
后来，一场风暴过后，他提出为国王的花园清理掉落的树枝，条件是他可以留下这些树枝。他找来孩子们帮忙，用甜糕作为报酬，然后将收集的木材作为柴火卖给了国王的陶艺家，赚了一大笔钱。
随着资本增长，他开了一家点心店。他慷慨地为当地的割草工提供免费的蛋糕和饮料，赢得了他们的好感。当一个马贩带着500匹马到来时，这个人从割草工那里获得了所有的草料，并以高价卖出。
听说一艘外国船抵达，他想出了一个聪明的计划。他弄到一枚珍贵的红宝石戒指，将其作为预付佣金赠予船长。作为回报，船长将所有乘客引荐给他作为经纪人。然后，他将乘客引荐给城里的商人，从双方赚取佣金。这笔成功的交易让他变得非常富有。
出于感激，他将一半的财富——10万金币——赠予了当初启发他的国王顾问。顾问十分惊讶，询问他是如何积累如此财富的。这个人讲述了他的旅程，从那只死老鼠开始。
顾问对此人的精力和才华印象深刻，将自己的独生女许配给他。顾问去世后，这个人继承了他的财富和职位，成为城里最富有、最慷慨的人。
寓意是： 凭借精力和智慧，巨大的财富可以从最微小的开端积累起来。